Shloka 5
Nāga–Nāgabhāryā Saṃvāda: Varṇa-Dharma, Gṛhastha-Discipline, and Mokṣa-Self-Inquiry
Mahābhārata 12.347
ततस्तद्धावितो नित्यं यजे वैकुण्ठमव्ययम् । तस्माच्च प्रसृत:ः पूर्व ब्रह्मा लोकपितामह:
tatastaddhāvito nityaṁ yaje vaikuṇṭham avyayam | tasmācca prasṛtaḥ pūrvaṁ brahmā lokapitāmahaḥ ||
Nārada said: “Thereafter, being continually impelled by that (divine prompting), I worship the imperishable Vaikuṇṭha. And from Him, in the beginning, issued forth Brahmā, the grandsire and progenitor of the worlds.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms the imperishability and supremacy of Vaikuṇṭha (Viṣṇu) as the ultimate object of worship, and presents a theistic cosmology in which Brahmā, the world-progenitor, proceeds from that Supreme source—grounding devotion in a hierarchy of origins.
Nārada speaks in the first person, describing his continual worship of Vaikuṇṭha and stating a cosmogonic point: at the beginning, Brahmā—called the grandsire of the worlds—emanated from Vaikuṇṭha.